To the Editor: Date of Allegation Abuse Allegation Should Be Revealed

Toledo Blade
October 20, 2018

https://www.toledoblade.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/2018/10/20/toledo-catholic-diocese-nelson-beaver-sex-abuse-allegation/stories/20181019100

When Toledo Catholic officials admitted that the Rev. Nelson Beaver has been accused of child sexual abuse, they took great pains to mention the alleged offense happened 25 years ago. But they refused to disclose a more important date (”Diocese places priest on leave to investigate sex abuse allegation,” Oct. 13).

The self-serving and carefully-orchestrated news release prepared by Bishop Daniel Thomas’ public relations team said nothing about when church staff received the accusation.

Parents, police, prosecutors, parishioners, and the public deserve to know whether Bishop Thomas and his colleagues acted within days or years after being told that Father Nelson Beaver allegedly assaulted a child .

DAVID CLOHESSY

St. Louis, Mo.

The writer is the former national director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

Many buses run with few riders

In response to “TARTA may raise fares twice in coming year,” Oct. 17, how many times have you seen a 30,000-pound TARTA bus with one or two passengers? Or a 14,000-pound bus picking up one passenger using the Call-A-Ride service? One can’t help but wonder how much these rides actually cost on a per passenger basis. There is no doubt that many of TARTA’s routes run at near or full capacity and that they serve a valuable service to many thousands of riders, but would it not be more feasible to integrate a ride hailing service into the mix? TARTA could replace some of the behemoths currently used with much less expensive and much more efficient vehicles. This concept is being implemented in other cities and is worth exploring here as well. In the end it might actually increase ridership, revenue, and taxpayer support .

JEFFREY VANDERHORST

South Toledo

Didn’t Sylvania just pass levy?

Sylvania Schools want to put a levy on the ballot this November calling it a “security levy.” This is a 5-year, 0.9-mill levy. While I am all for safety in our schools, didn’t we just pass in November, 2016, a 5.7-mill levy that will generate $6.5 million a year for operating funds and $1.3 million in permanent improvements? That levy will grow cash reserves from $3.45 million in 2017 to $10.29 million in 2021 (“District forecasts more cash reserves,” Dec. 22, 2016). Since the tax assessments for Sylvania increased by 12.88 percent and Sylvania Township 10.56 percent, an average of 11.72 percent, how much more will this generate in reserves for the schools? Where is that money going?

Before the taxpayer is burdened with another levy, administrators should do more investigating into grants. Administrators failed to look into the School Violence Prevention Program because they did not know about the grant. How many more grants don’t they know about ?

What should be done is at least for a year, take some of the “reserves” money, which is readily available, and pay for the safety program. Then show the public all of the avenues they investigated before pushing for a levy. Superintendent Adam Fineske stated “I don’t want to make anybody pay more than they have to” (”Beefed-up security plans,” Aug. 13). Prove it. Put the board to work and show us what you have done and don’t take the easy way out.

BILL TURANSKI